Issuing a stern warning to anyone commiting acts of corruption, President Lagos called upon Chileans to rise to the challenges of the new century and the country's partnership with the world's leading powers.
A comprehensive review of the first half of his presidential term was offered by President Ricardo Lagos in his 2003 Message to the Nation. In his address, the President emphasized the fulfillment of his commitments as well as the country’s progress in recent years. Reminding listeners of his determination to make Chile a more humane, productive and reliable country, he detailed the advances achieved in each of these areas.
In Chile, the speech is known simply as the Message. As called for by the final clause of Article 24 of the Constitution, it is the President of the Republic’s annual account of the political and administrative state of the nation. The President delivers his address before the full Congress, consisting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in formal session. It is held on May 21, the start of the year’s regular legislative session, which extends to September 18. A full report on the government’s progress and performance is published in book form.
At the beginning of his speech, the President made direct reference to the topics which had concerned public opinion in recent months. He was emphatic in distinguishing three types of problems: acts of corruption; the harmful effects of the “perverse relationship between politics and money,” and vestiges of backwardness in the State apparatus, which represent the majority of the cases. The President emphasized that “these are different problems. They require different solutions. It is not good for Chile if we group them together, as if they were all the same.”
He also encouraged listeners to look at the country’s other face, “of which we are deeply proud,” enumerating some of Chile’s most noteworthy advances, such as the reduction of the illiteracy rate to only 4%, and the doubling over the past ten years of kindergarten enrollment and the number of young people attending higher education – advances which have benefited low-income families above all.
Acknowledging the challenge of ending extreme poverty by 2006, President Lagos described the advances of the Chile Solidario program (Chile Solidarity), created to raise the country’s neediest 225,000 families out of poverty. He praised the dedication to service of the nearly 1,000 young people who have applied to work in the program, which currently serves 55,200 families and will expand to 115,000 by the end of the year.
The President noted with satisfaction that Chile has been able to continue its growth in spite of the war in Iraq and fluctuations in oil prices, which have subjected the world economy to new waves of instability and uncertainty. “Today, Chile’s Gross Domestic Product is 9.3% higher than it was at the start of my administration. This is a growth rate similar to that of the world economy, 1.8 times higher than that of our trading partners, and 2.5 times greater than that of Latin America as a whole.”
In 2002, Chile was taken on as a partner by the European Union, while also signing a Free Trade Agreement with South Korea, and recently, with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). In addition, the country successfully concluded a Free Trade Agreement with the world’s leading power, the United States. “These agreements, which will be followed by others, represent a solid guarantee for our country’s development. The opportunities they present are enormous. When the world economy begins its next upward cycle, we will be prepared, and we will not let these new opportunities pass us by,” affirmed the President.
On the international level, President Lagos stressed that the favorable status Chile has gained around the world obliges it to take on responsibilities, “motivated by causes and ideals which reside in the hearts of all the sons and daughters of Chile: the cause of peace, and the ideal of full adherence to international law.” Thus, the country expended great efforts to avoid the war in Iraq, “and now that the conflict has ended, and the civilized world is mobilizing to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Iraq, Chile is willing to contribute to this effort to the extent of its capabilities,” the President stated firmly. He also insisted that “the United Nations must play a prominent role in the human, social, political and material reconstruction of Iraq.”
The Chile That Must Be Left Behind
In recent years, “not without pain and tension, Chile has gradually begun to address the dark chapters of its history. There are some who would like Chile to develop a culture in which everything is permitted in the quest for rapid and easy wealth. There are some who believe that any means is legitimate in achieving their goals. This is not the Chile we inherited from our ancestors, nor the Chile we want to leave as a legacy to our children,” emphasized the President.
During the past few months, the government has been hard-hit by accusations of corrupt practices, poor public management and the payment of so-called sobresueldos (honoraria on top of salaries).
In this regard, President Lagos reminded listeners that not all of the problems arise from the same source. While some represent serious cases of corruption, “which will be punished,” others can be attributed to a “chronic problem of the State,” which cannot “offer adequate compensation to highly-qualified professionals.” Various mechanisms were created in response to this problem, which are currently subject to critical review. For example, the payment of honoraria was conceived as a way of providing compensation in line with market rates, but the system gradually broke down.
The President detailed a number of measures which have been adopted to advance the rapid and efficient modernization of the State. They include a law – approved in January – setting pay scales for higher-level officials in the Executive Branch; the “New Treatment” bill, which will open up 3,000 jobs previously appointed by the President to a public application process; and a bill calling for the availability of public procurement information on the Internet, so that any Chilean can see what is being purchased, from whom and at what cost. In addition, the President praised the agreement reached among the country’s various political currents to limit campaign spending and provide transparency with regard to private campaign contributions.
A More Humane Chile
Addressing the commitment to construct a more humane and livable Chile, the President pointed to the progress of initiatives in the areas of housing, education, health and employment.
Thanks to a substantial increase in the housing construction budget, “in 2002 we more than doubled the resources aimed at the poorest 30% of the population.” Today, Chile has a million more homes than it had ten years ago. Within a decade, the housing gap has narrowed by 43%, with 75% of Chileans now living in their own homes. More than 90% of these dwellings are permanent constructions, with electrical, water and sewer connections.
In the area of education – another fundamental pillar of the administration’s social efforts – the President offered key information: the proportion of subsidized schools implementing the Full School Day initiative has reached 75%, and the country has followed through on its decision to establish 12 years of mandatory schooling.
Advances have also taken place in higher education. Government-backed loans were increased by 10% for students at public universities, and a bill has been sent to Congress to create a National Financing System for Higher Education, to provide “the children of middle-class and lower-income families” attending private universities with the means to finance their studies.
Yet the country still faces many challenges: implementing the Full School Day reform in every school, narrowing the “digital divide” and becoming a functionally bilingual (Spanish / English) country. All of these are concrete proposals which are showing progress day by day.
The first stage of the country’s Health Care Reform, which guarantees equal rights to health care for the entire population, has focused on preventive and primary care, which enjoyed budgetary increases of 18% this year.
At the same time, a pilot plan was initiated to cover public health care recipients’ full expenses for illnesses such as childhood cancer, congenital heart problems and kidney failure: “More than 2,680 patients were treated for one of these three conditions from August to December 31, 2002.” In April, two additional areas were added to this guaranteed coverage: cervical or uterine cancer, and palliative pain relief, which has improved the quality of life for terminal cancer patients throughout the country.
In the area of employment, the most significant step was the implementation of the Unemployment Insurance initiative, providing workers who lose their jobs for any reason with guaranteed monthly support, decreasing over a five-month period. Lower-income workers are assured a minimum of 470 dollars. The insurance is financed by employers, employees and the government. “Today, one million workers are covered by the Unemployment Insurance program,” reported the President.
Emphasis has also been placed on creating new jobs, especially in the areas of the country where unemployment is highest, and on worker training: during the past year, 870,000 employees received training, 40% more than in 2001.
A More Productive Chile
In spite of the uncertainty in the international economy, Chile achieved a growth rate of 2.1% during 2002, a figure which has already risen to 3.6% during the first quarter of the current year. As the President notes, this has been made possible by the “serious and responsible management of the domestic economy.”
In addition, the country’s exports increased by nearly 7% between 1999 and 2002. They are expected to reach a new record this year, surpassing 19 billion dollars.
In his speech, President Lagos stressed that “the only stable source of prosperity is further growth.” Toward this aim, the administration’s Pro-Growth Agenda – aimed at modernizing and energizing both the public and private sectors – has already spearheaded a number of notable initiatives, which are beginning to bear fruit. For example, since the approval of the Investment Platform Law, which provides incentives for the relocation of large international companies to Chile, more than 32 firms have begun offering services to the world from offices in the country.
Other important laws approved this year were the Fisheries Law and the Electronic Signature Law. Proposals currently in the legislative pipeline include a bill to create a Competition Protection Court, along with an Electricity Law and, practically approved, a Public Procurement Law. The second version of the Capital Markets Law, as well as an Electronic Billing Law, will soon be sent to Congress. In addition, the country’s Labor Courts are slated for modernization along with a tripling of their number, to provide legal security to workers affected by harmful practices on the part of employers or labor unions.
Another bill under review by the legislature is the Labor Flexibility Law, which will allow employers to distribute working hours and days more effectively in accordance with their needs, while fully respecting workers’ rights.
Without a doubt, however, one of the country’s greatest advances during the past 12 years has taken place in the area of infrastructure, where, in the President’s words, there has been “a true revolution.”
Today, Chile has more than 2,000 kilometers of highways built by private contractors, in conformity with the highest quality and safety standards. It has become Latin America’s second leading country in the area maritime shipping, expanding the total tons of cargo transported by nearly 70%. More than 30 airlines serve its airports, flying more than 250,000 tons of goods per year to over 100 different destinations. Meanwhile, the expansion of airport terminals throughout the country has increased their service capacity from four million to nearly 14 million passengers per year.
A More Reliable Chile
Thirty years after the breakdown of democracy in Chile, the country has been forced to expend great efforts toward recovering internal confidence – confidence in its public institutions, in the business and trade worlds, among workers and unions, and among the population in general.
Referring to the Armed Forces, the President noted that they have now become institutions which belong to all Chileans, loyal to the country’s institutions and to the republican spirit. They have made significant progress in modernization, while also improving the country’s defensive capabilities, as detailed in the second National Defense White Paper, released on May 16.
Regarding reforms to the 1980 Constitution, the President called upon leaders across the political spectrum – at least for the moment – to pass special laws addressing the areas on which they agree, separating these from the topics “on which we are not yet capable of reaching an agreement.”
Among these issues are changes to the country’s electoral system – which today produces a deadlocked Congress regardless of the election results – as well as reforms to the country’s administrative structure, in order to advance and improve the decentralization of the regions.
In the area of criminal justice, President Lagos noted that four regions have joined the previous four which have implemented the country’s Criminal Trial Reform. It is hoped that these reform measures will be fully operational throughout the country by December 2004. The President also underscored the need to ensure that “the Judicial Branch, as an independent power of the State, enjoys the necessary autonomy to carry out its mission. I want to make my commitment to advance in this direction a reality.”
In the area of community safety, President Lagos pointed to the initiatives undertaken by police forces and municipalities to make all of Chile’s townships safer places to live. These advances have included staffing increases for Carabineros (Chile’s uniformed police force) as well as closer ties with local communities. However, the President also spoke of the need for long-term efforts within the communities themselves, in order to involve young people in community life and keep them away from crime and drugs.
To rebuild the confidence of “Chileans among themselves,” the government has undertaken initiatives to reverse situations such as the Alimony law along with others aimed at fighting discrimination and expanding opportunities for women. The legislature is currently deliberating the new Civil Marriage Law, and “with the aim of strengthening the family, we have proposed the creation of Family Courts in the very near future.”
Culture: Protagonist of the New Chile
A bill setting up new cultural institutions for the country will soon become law, providing Chile with a modern institutional framework in this area, noted the President. The new administrative bodies are the National Cultural Council and the National Fund for Cultural Development.
“The increasing levels of creative energy unfolding throughout Chile require appropriate spaces for their expression. In recognition of this, the country’s Bicentennial Commission is overseeing the creation of a greater quantity of cultural infrastructure than has been constructed during a large part of Chile’s history,” including new museums, cultural centers and libraries.
The new information technologies represent part of culture as well. Thanks to government support as well as a donation from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 368 public libraries in all parts of the country, including Easter Island and the Juan Fernández Islands, have been equipped with a total of 1,125 computers. “By 2006, one million Chileans will be familiar with the Internet and have access to it through the BiblioRedes (Library Networks) project, along with many others benefiting from our digital literacy program.”
Chile: A Path to the Future
In concluding his address, President Lagos referred to the remaining challenges facing the country, which he summed up in six fundamental tasks: achieving higher growth rates; eliminating extreme poverty; ensuring health care for all Chileans; protecting senior citizens; bringing the educational system in line with the 21st century; and integrating the country’s efforts in science and technology with the world of tomorrow.
“The tasks remaining ahead of us must be addressed with a sense of national determination. If we join forces and place our faith in the search for agreement, the country will win. To do this, we must look beyond our legitimate political differences and work to promote national unity,” concluded the President.